Repsol Honda’s Marc Marquez has a rather enviable record at the Sachsenring. The Spanish double MotoGP™ World Champion has claimed pole and won his last six races at the track across all classes, meaning he has gone unbeaten at the German GP for the last six years. Here is a look back at his winning races:
2010
The 2010 season saw Marc Marquez lift his first World Championship title. The seventeen-year-old Spaniard was competing in his third season in the 125cc class. Marquez had scored two podiums in the first three races, before arriving at the Sachsenring on the back of four consecutive race wins and leading his title rival Pol Espargaro by just one point in the championship. Starting from pole he would go on to take his fifth win of the season and first on German soil after an excellent battle with Espargaro on a drying track…
2011
After being crowned 2010 125cc World Champion, Marquez made the move up to Moto2™ for 2011. He didn’t quite make the impact he wanted at the start of the year, as two DNFs and a 21st placed finish in Estoril left him floundering. He then spectacularly won at Le Mans, completely turning around his fortunes. By the time he arrived in Germany he had won three races and was second in the championship, but still a whopping 52-points behind leader Stefan Bradl. When the lights went out at the Sachsenring, it was the two title rivals who got involved in an incredible race long battle at the front. Marquez emerged victorious over Bradl for the second race in a row, going on to finish as runner-up in the Championship in just his debut season in the class.
2012
The 2012 season saw Marquez in his second year in the intermediate class. Three wins in the first seven races saw him lead the standings by 23 points from Andrea Iannone, with Pol Espargaro in third just eight points further back. At the German GP Marquez romped to his third victory in a row at the Sachsenring and with Espargaro and Iannone crossing the line in 4th and 16th respectively, extended his lead in the standings on the way to lifting the Moto2™ World Championship.
2013
After being crowned Moto2™ World Champion and lifting two titles in three years, Marquez made the highly anticipated step up the premier class for 2013. Joining the factory Repsol Honda squad, he made an immediate impact. After a podium at the first race of the season in Qatar, the 20 year old took his first MotoGP™ victory at the second round in Austin. Four more podiums followed, but by the time he arrived at the Sachsenring he found himself third in the standings, 23-points behind Dani Pedrosa, with Jorge Lorenzo sandwiched between them. Come Sunday, Marquez blitzed the field to win by over 1.5s and start a run of four victories in a row that would help to see him go on to be crowned the youngest ever premier class World Champion at the end of the season.
2014
If Marquez had to fight his way to his debut MotoGP™ title in 2013, the 2014 season must have seemed like a walk in the park. The Spaniard on his Repsol Honda RC213V was simply untouchable, winning the first eight races of the season to arrive in Germany with a mammoth 72-point lead in the championship. Everyone was out to stop him, not only to try and halt his charge to the title, but also to show that he wasn’t unbeatable. Unfortunately for his rivals, he would prove to be just that, as he made it win number nine of the season by taking his fifth victory in a row at the Sachsenring, going on to be crowned champion once more at the Japan GP.
2015
One of Marquez’s best wins at the Sachsenring came in 2015. His defence of his MotoGP™ crown had got off to a terrible start, with three DNFs in the first seven races and just one win to his name. This left him fourth in the standings, 74-points adrift of championship leader Valentino Rossi. A key turning point of the season for Marquez came at the race before in Assen, where he made the switch to his 2014 chassis and went on to finish the race in second. At the German GP he would go one better and return to winning ways. Starting from pole for the sixth year in succession Marquez dominated the race to make it an incredible six victories in a row at the Sachsenring.
Can Marquez make it a magnificent seven at the 2016 GoPro Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland? Find out when the MotoGP™ on track action kicks off on Friday with Free Practice 1 at 9:55am local time.